Life in the city

Medellin

Here’s a post for those of you who have been wondering what it’s like where we live. Since we arrived temperatures have been in the 70s and 80s – warm during the day, cooler at night. It has also started to rain in the afternoons, usually about 3pm it comes in and there is a downpour for awhile and then sprinkles for an hour or so.  This city sits in the valley, with mountains on both sides. It’s elevation is about 4000 feet. And the population is about 2,500,000. It’s a big city with lots of traffic and lots of hills, which makes driving a challenge (especially since most cars aren’t automatics).

 

A view of downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods...note how high on the hills the houses go.

 

Medellin consists of things both old and new. Every year there is a new shopping mall being built! And yet there is still so much beautiful, antique architecture. One of our favorite places is the pueblito paisa (where the picture above was taken from), there’s a little replica of what a town/neighborhood in this area used to be like. Many of the small towns look the same today.

 

A little oasis in the middle of the big city

 

Medellin also has it’s extremes of wealth and poverty. On one side of town you find malls, restaurants, luxury apartments and on the other you find houses made out of boards and dirt roads. Many of the Covenant churches are located in the lower class neighborhoods and reach out in incredible ways to their neighbors. One of the churches located in the downtown area has taken on a special concern for a neighborhood at the very top of one of these hillsides, called Santo Domingo. It’s a place that has great needs and the church has done an amazing job reaching out, especially to the children.

 

 

A view from Santo Domingo right as the rain moves in

 

One of the newest malls built

 

There are lots of ways to get around in the city – taxi, bus, car, bike, motorcycle, etc. Sam’s favorite mode of transportation continues to be train and luckily there is a great metro that runs through the city. It is super clean and pretty convenient.

 

The metro

 

Despite the fact that it is a big city there are places you can go to get away from it all. The city has done a great job of putting in parks of all different types. Just this weekend we visited the botanic gardens.

 

A view of the gardens

 

There is so much to see in the city! We’re excited to do some more exploring as a family. We’ve already visited several of the churches and have had a number of people over to our house for dinner. Pray for us as we get to know our neighbors and engage in the community.

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One thought on “Life in the city

  1. So great to see where you are and learn about Medellin! Continuing to pray for your family. It sounds like things are going very well! Thanking God for your willingness to be used by him for his glory.

    Kathy

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